He has minor-league options left, so the team won’t lose him. But the question remains, where do you put him?

On one hand you could use his arm and strikeout ability — he punched out a batter an inning last year — in the bullpen.

But if you needed him for a spot start he would need to be lengthened out and would likely be limited to three or four innings in his first outing.

Whereas if he is sent down to Triple-A Buffalo’s rotation he’ll always be ready to jump in, but he won’t be helping the big-league club in the meantime.

Gibbons admits he still isn’t sure where Happ would be most valuable to the team.

“We need depth,” he said. “You want depth in case something happens because something always does.” But then again, if he were in the pen “he could help you win a couple games here or there.”

The player himself is unequivocal. He has spent the bulk of his career as a starter and that’s where he’d like to stay.

“I’m focused on being a starter . . . and doing what I’ve done best,” the 30-year-old Illinois native said earlier this week after pitching three innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

But he also wants to be on the big-league team, naturally. He said it’s possible to be a swingman, serving both the role of long reliever and spot starter. “But I think my value is strongest as a starter.”

“He really deserves a chance to start,” Gibbons said, then shrugged. “It’s just, right now, luck of the draw.”

Happ makes his fourth start of the spring Sunday in Dunedin against the New York Yankees.

Beyond Happ, there are other experienced major-league arms who could be squeezed out in the next few weeks as bullpen competition tightens.

With Casey Janssen, Sergio Santos, Darren Oliver, Steve Delabar and Esmil Rogers considered all but locks, there are just two spots remaining for the likes of Happ, Brad Lincoln, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Jeremy Jeffress and, as of this week, Dustin McGowan.

Happ, Lincoln and Loup all have options, but Cecil, Jeffress and McGowan would have to clear waivers before being sent to the minors. These are the costs of being a contender.

“There could be a few guys pissed off and a few guys who probably deserve to be here,” Gibbons said. “In the past they’d be locks, but the way everything’s been built, the acquisitions and all that, it means the team’s that much better.”

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